The Switch
by tzaya
Summary: She could've messaged him saying something came up, anything— so he could go home and tick it off on his list as an another unsuccessful attempt at love. (shizuo/izaya)
1. Chapter 1

It was out of the ordinary, really— for him to be wearing something else other than his usual bartender getup or the white t-shirt and a pair of track pants when he's home, slurping away on cup ramen with milk on the coffee table to help him sleep. This time, he was all set in a black suit, blue bowtie and a dress shirt. His hair was even gelled up and swept to the side. He'd thought that he needed to dress up for the occasion, even losing his favorite sunglasses because Tom said that it wasn't appropriate since he could look arrogant; Shizuo didn't want her to think that way of him.

"At least I'm here first, right? That's what Kasuka said," he was nervous, finger fiddling with the wine glass in front of him.

Ten minutes had passed.

The girl that he had been chatting with online was still not here, which made him briefly wonder if there was a traffic problem or she'd accidentally run into some problems (for example, a bunch of rowdy boys bothering her). If it was the latter, Shizuo definitely wanted to be there to help her. Either way, he'd wait. Patience wasn't really something he had much of, but the least he could do was try.

Shizuo reached for another glass of wine that had been refilled.

It tasted okay. He preferred sake, though.

Thirty minutes had passed.

Shizuo counted the times the waiter came to ask him whether he was ready to order, the order book almost shoved into his face with each progressing time. It was getting on his nerves too that he actually ended up raising his voice at the man. He wasn't sure if the waiter knew who he was, though if he didn't, he knew _now_ from looking at the wrinkles between his brows when his face contorted in anger, jaw clenching as he held himself back from chucking the table across the room. That expression was probably what he was remembered by to the people in Ikebukuro.

 _Heiwajima Shizuo going on a date?_

It was unheard of, sure, but there was no need for there to be whispers about it among the staffs.

He had ears too.

And he'd stab them with a fork if they continued to talk shit behind his back.

An hour had passed.

It was his limit. Now everyone else's partners had already arrived, and they were enjoying their dinner, with their fancy food which half of the names were so foreign and complicated that Shizuo couldn't pronounce them. Some that he could were spaghetti, affogato (Kasuka taught him how to pronounce it when he took Shizuo out for this, saying he'd love it since it had ice cream) and pizza. Meanwhile, no plates were on his table. He was tempted, though, to just order something but this restaurant was expensive and if he was going to buy something for himself, he'd rather just go to Russia Sushi or the hamburger restaurant. This kind of money should only be spent on something big and special, _like_ _this date_ , if it would actually happen.

The girl had probably played him, or she'd come strolling in to see the monster of Ikebukuro sitting at the spot where her date should be at, and fled right off before he could see her. She could've messaged him saying something came up, anything— so he could go home and tick it off on his list as an another unsuccessful attempt at love.

Vorona told him that he should wait for at least an hour since apparently girls took long to get ready so they could look perfect for their date, and they preferred to make the guys wait (it'd be more embarrassing for the girls to arrive first and wait). Well, she read that in a magazine, but it probably applied. Shizuo wasn't sure why Vorona's expression was solemn when she said it, though. Perhaps she already knew that he'd be stood up?

"Sorry that I'm late, Shizu- _chan_. Shiki-san wanted me to add more information to the work documents he requested."

Shizuo was ready to get back up on his feet and take his wallet out to pay for all the wine he'd been drinking (which would probably cost a lot, he could already imagine it), but before he could, a familiar man he recognized so well sat right in front of him like he belonged there. And of course, he was also all suited up like Shizuo was, only with a red bowtie. The smile on Izaya's face was different from the smirk he flashed so often at Shizuo, now appearing all sweet albeit being absolutely fake. (It was a relief that Shizuo failed to notice the way Izaya uttered the 'chan' part, which was with a more cutesy, high-pitched tone that was probably intended on his behalf.)

"What are you doing here?" the usual long drawl of Izaya's name threatened to come out, his hands already shaking. It was almost like he needed to grab something to throw at Izaya's face to calm his nerves.

"Whoever that was supposed to show up clearly didn't. She ran out so fast on her heels when she saw you. I decided to save you from the humiliation. Aren't I so kind?"

"I'm more embarrassed that people think I'm having a shitty flea as my date. Wait— How'd you know that, aah? Were you following me?"

"It's not that hard to, Shizu-chan. Look," Izaya took his phone out, and true to his words, there were row after row of articles with his name on the headlines, more specifically 'Heiwajima Shizuo being stood up', 'Shizuo is on a date? Who's the date?' and many more, "and please, I'm so much more goodlooking than her. Shizu-chan should be pleased to have me accompany him."

There was no hesitation displayed when Izaya sipped on his wine, not at all bothered by the fact that he was drinking from Shizuo's glass.

"Mm. They gave you this? It's alright, but not that good if you want a successful date. Don't worry, I'll ask for a better one."

Shizuo didn't know what to say, head already hurting from the very moment his gaze met those crimson eyes, and yes, it'd be good to have a drink so he wouldn't argue with that. The reason he was still here and not trashing this place by having a fight with Izaya, or out there chasing Izaya? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he really wanted to take that wine glass and break it on Izaya's head when Izaya rested his cheek in his palm, head tipped to the side with a small smile and said these next words.

"So tell me, how was your day, _baby_?"


	2. Chapter 2

Nimble fingers shifted from key to key on the keyboard, while crimson eyes scanned the notes he'd jotted down, which were resting on the table by his side— only taking a moment to slow down once a popup message in the corner of the desktop caught his eyes. The light blue coloured little box with bolded letters became blurry until he blinked his eyes and looked at it properly.

It seemed like Shizuo was out again.

Was it even worth to click on it? They're probably saying something like 'the beast is spotted at Russia Sushi, don't go there!' or a literally similar message with the location changed to Shabu Shabu Café instead, which Shizuo frequented to get his favourite strawberry milkshake. Izaya was definitely used to getting this popup every day. After all, he was one of the registered members on the warning board.

His hands began to move again, typing up a report on some guy named Hihara Kazuki that Shiki had asked him to look into earlier.

Funny, the surname sounded so close to Orihara.

"Your boyfriend is out on a date."

The sounds of typing ceased as he brought his chin up to look at Namie. He was sure that the only thing Namie saw which wasn't completely blocked by his monitor were his eyes, so he opted to raise a questioning brow at her when she didn't respond, too glued to the screen in front of her.

"Heiwajima," she explained further.

"I think I ought to cut your pay since you're searching for gossips instead of sorting out those documents. But who'd have known? Namie-san _is_ a woman after all," he answered, pushing the keyboard away from him before resting his chin in his palm with a fake smile painted on his face.

"And since when has Shizu-chan become my boyfriend?"

Namie only scrunched her nose up at him. She wasn't about to deny his words about women liking gossips.

"Isn't he? You've been interested in him in forever."

"It's just because he's fun to play with. If you're implying that I'd date Shizu-chan because of that reason, that'd be wrong. I'd rather date Seiji."

"What did you jus—"

"Anyway, I think I'll be going now. I'd like all the work to be done in five minutes, Namie- _chan_!"

"Where are you going? To go ruin Heiwajima's date?"

Namie's eyes followed his every step, from the moment he got up back onto his feet to him reaching for his fur trimmed parka, and she gave him a smirk the moment he glanced at her, "…or could it be that _you're_ his date?"

"It wouldn't be fun if you figure it all out!" Izaya spared her a smile, eyes forming into crescents before he slammed the door on her.

"Heh. Humans are naturally nosy, as expected."

Beep.

[ momo ] heiwajima is on a date! i couldnt believe it either but i heard him say that hes waiting for someone?

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

[ killkill2843 ] Maybe Its His Grandma Lol

[ chiharar ] its true i was the table

[ pup ] i was the chandelier

[ daisukedaisuki ] Really? I was just planning to go there…..

[ momo ] guys how do I run from this place

[ linda1 ] R.I.P MOMO

"What kind of girl wants to send herself into the wolf's den? Don't be so gullible," he muttered to himself, scrolling down the forum that he opened on his phone as soon as he went into the elevator. He didn't quite like the fact that he seemed eager to know about Shizuo's whereabouts, but it couldn't be helped.

There was a photo attachment on the board. In the photo, Shizuo was wearing a black suit on top of his usual white dress shirt, with a blue bowtie as an accompaniment. His blonde locks was gelled up to the side. A totally different look Izaya never thought he'd see Shizuo having on, especially considering Shizuo never even bothered to wear this kind of clothes whenever he goes for job interviews.

"Well, don't you look handsome?"

He shut his flip phone with a flick of his wrist, a smug look marring his face when the elevator's doors slid open.

"If only you knew you'd be seeing me, Shizu-chan."


	3. Chapter 3

"It _is_ what happened."

Izaya raised his index finger up, ring glinting under the dim light of the restaurant as the crimson colored wine in his glass he sloshed in a lazy manner, similar hued eyes remained locked with the person in front of him. His lips were quirked up in a smile despite how out of place this date with his nemesis seemed, one of the genuine kind at that— which was the main cause of the puzzled expressions among the patrons that hadn't fled the scene just yet. They definitely reminded him of children; daring to put risk to their lives just to satisfy their curiosity, even going as far as to snap a few pictures of the infamous duo.

"There's no proof that you're not her. Hell, even your secretary thinks so! I think this is just another one of your shitty tricks," Shizuo seethed from anger, taking a moment before downing the fifth gulp of his drink to cool himself down. Really, it was a wonder how the glass was still in-tact; not broken into shards and digging into his skin, or how there was no sawdust from destroyed furniture making him cough up his lungs. Izaya found that to be marvelous; absolutely fascinating.

Who was Shizuo trying to impress by staying level-headed? It couldn't possibly be for his public image, since that had been tainted since day one. Then, perhaps Shizuo was lying through his teeth, _perhaps_ he still held a belief that a real girl would come strolling along sooner or later— which sounded like a more plausible answer compared to the first one, and Izaya would have ended up sputtering, _howling with laugher even_ , if he wasn't reminded of the ticking bomb in front of him. They would break out into their usual cat and mouse chase if he was to play the wrong cards, and of course, that wouldn't be good for him.

This date still had more chances to pan out into something good.

"Would Shizu-chan have preferred her to be me instead? I'm flattered."

"Anyone's better than you."

"Oya," brows knitting, Izaya placed a palm over his heart for a dramatic effect, acting as though he'd gotten upset by such forward words, "that doesn't sound like the sweet Shizu-chan I've been hearing from."

"…Get lost, bastard."

"Careful, you'll hurt my feelings."

"Yeah? I never knew you had any."

There was a noise of dissatisfaction that slipped from his lips, but he managed to muster a grin within the last second before Shizuo could comment on it, eyes crescent-shaped despite his half-hearted efforts to appear chirpy after the biting retort he received. His gaze then trailed over Shizuo now lax figure— blonde locks mussed up due to how consistent Shizuo was with tugging at them as a method of anger suppression, creases still forming on the forehead as a sign that he was still wary of Izaya, even though the tense expression that he had on was already gone. And of course, the blue bowtie that completed his outfit became loose, as if he'd just gotten home after a day's work.

Shizuo seemed to have long stopped caring about his own appearance.

 _A leopard can't change its spots after all._

It wasn't how Izaya wanted his date to look like, as much as the back of his mind tempted the idea of leaving this situation as it was, the both of them being 'Beauty and the Beast'. But he, too, had standards.

"Shizu-chan, I understand that a beast may take comfort in being messy as it's in their nature, but it'd be very, _very_ preferable if you'd fix your hair."

"Ha? Why should I look good for you?"

If there weren't so many eyes watching every move they made, he would've rolled his eyes right then, but he opted for a deep exhale of a sigh instead. Only Shizuo wouldn't care about resembling a trashcan in a high-class restaurant as this.

"I took the time to dress myself up for Shizu-chan," Izaya gestured towards himself, fingertips smoothening out the non-existent crinkles on his suit, which he'd requested to be ironed twice at the shop for extra measures— not that he thought Shizuo would've even cared if he came in a wrinkled outfit, because Shizuo would treat him just as same if he'd donned a simple white t-shirt instead.

"I didn't ask you to."

"Can't you just appreciate how good looking I am, perhaps even better than Koyuki-san?"

The sound of a familiar name seemed to stir Shizuo up.

"Whose picture did you even use, aah?"

"Mm? Did you really think it was me who talked to you?"

Shizuo slumped forward, head in his hands and fingers tangled in the blonde locks that were only getting more unkempt as time goes by, "You're just fuckin' with me. Everything has your shitty prints all over it. But… we called each other, and her voice was soft," He seemed confused, bothered by the truths that he believed as lies, and disappointment was clearly portrayed in his expression as he knew that he had to chalk this up as another failure in his dating life, and just as before, it was because of Izaya's interference.

The demise only made Izaya smile, though.

"You must've paid someone to act as Koyuki-san, you bastard," Shizuo continued further, thinking he had Izaya all figured out.

"If you're really convinced I'm her, then, let's see the receipts. Hm, which sweet message from Shizu-chan shall we see today?"

From the moment he first came in, he'd placed his phone on the table, and it'd been there; unmoving since (it was a surprise that Shizuo never attempted to go at it). Izaya lifted it up, swiftly unlocking it as he held the device in a strategic angle where only he could gaze upon the now lit screen. "Oh? Looks like I was telling the truth after all, I searched… and," he turned it towards Shizuo after opening the messaging application, thumb skidding across the glass screen in a consistent manner as to only give a gist of the messages contained there instead of letting Shizuo read them, "No messages between Shizu-chan and Koyuki-san here."

"How'd I know you're telling the truth? Do it in front of me."

Shizuo's grasped his hand, albeit firm, the grip was warm against his skin and rather addictive, to such person as him who hadn't received such contact on a daily basis— but he tried not to let it show on his face. The day his heart skips a beat for Shizuo would be the day he'd rip his heart out of his chest. Not that that has never happened before, but he'd never admit to that.

"Isn't trust one of the important things in a relationship?"

It was a joke of course, considering a man could come strolling to their table, slap down 55,000 yen, betting that Shizuo didn't have even an ounce of trust in Izaya, and he'd be announced winner in a second. Nevertheless, Izaya complied with Shizuo's request as he made no move to part their hands ( _it was_ a date, after all, right?), scrolling through the messages in a much slower pace.

"You must be fuckin' kidding me, this guy is asking you to kill his friend," the bolded letters on one of the messages piqued Shizuo's interest, brows knitting in building irritation at the thought of Izaya's dirty deeds. The tightening grip around his hand was a clear indication that the bomb had begun ticking again; with only one glance, he could see Shizuo contemplating why exactly he still hadn't thrown a chair at Izaya's head.

"I'm not going to accept that one, Shizu-chan. I trade information, not lives," Izaya retorted in a nonchalant manner, gaze scrutinizing Shizuo's movement for any change in his reaction. He'd brought his trusty switchblade with him in case things were to go awry.

"If you take up this shitty job, I—"

"I won't, I promise."

If the hand that was holding his wasn't capable of snapping his bone in a split second, he would've made the joke that Shizuo had certainly killed just as many humans as Izaya in his life. However, Shizuo seemed satisfied enough by the answer, but he spent several more minutes; stare boring through the screen of the phone until he deemed that there was indeed no proof to be found in there.

"Are you finally done now?" he questioned Shizuo.

"It's probably in another phone."

"This is the only phone I have, Shizu-chan."

"Ha."

"I understand that since Shizu-chan doesn't get around often, he'd be obsessed when there's any interest, but if you'd just let this go, that'd be very appreciated because I truly don't know Koyuki-san. Apart from one of my clients, of course, but that Koyuki was an old woman! Unless Shizu-chan swings that way—"

"And you know her fuckin' name."

"Is it really _that_ Koyuki-san?" It was unintentional, but it'd gotten to this point where he was antagonizing Shizuo; raising his brows as the corners of his lips curled up into a smile. The phone that was in his clutch had dropped back onto the velvet covered table with a 'thud', but it seemed like Shizuo was far too engrossed in his vexation to notice, the fingers remained tangled around Izaya's hand.

"You should know what she looks like."

"Why do you want me to be her so much?"

Anyone would agree that it would be better if Shizuo was left off believing that there was indeed a girl aside from Izaya. That there was a possibility that out of nowhere, he'd catch a glimpse of that familiar face he'd been staring at before he went to sleep every night, and they might end up working things out if they'd tried to talk in real life, as it wasn't like Izaya didn't knew that Shizuo was capable of being gentle, especially towards those he cared for.

Izaya didn't wait for a reply, no— he reached an arm out to prod at the knuckle of his nemesis with the faintest touch, his sultry gaze baited with slight mischief, and he continued further, rendering Shizuo speechless.

"Do you like me?"


End file.
